


Hope, Ohio.

by Quakerlass



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Implied Sexual Content, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-26
Updated: 2013-06-26
Packaged: 2017-12-16 06:18:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/858824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quakerlass/pseuds/Quakerlass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam and Gabriel have been bonded for a year when they get trapped by a spell. The only way Gabriel can save Sam is to let all his grace out in one go but what will happen to him? Will he be OK, will they ever see each other again?</p><p>Written after I saw a .gif of Richard in a black and white stripy uniform working in a coffee shop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hope, Ohio.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to http://supernaturallyimagined.tumblr.com/ for the beta.

“Sam, Sammy, c’mon, gigantor, _wake up_.” Grumbled Gabriel.

Sam groaned and opened his eyes. “Gabe, what happened?”

“It was a spell, I’m keeping it off at the moment but I can’t keep it away forever.”

Sam frowned, realising Gabriel was holding the bonding mark on Sam’s arm. “But you can get rid of it right?”

“It’s not that easy I’m afraid, Sam. This is serious stuff, it’s going to take a lot of grace to banish this sucker.”

“What do you mean? C’mon Gabriel tell me.” Sam continued when Gabriel hesitated.

“I’m going to have to release all my grace in one go.”

Sam stared at him. “But you’ll be alright; you can make more grace right?”

Gabriel shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea. It’s never been done before.”

“There must be another way,” Sam said, looking earnestly at Gabriel. “We can wait till the others arrive, and then Cas can help you.”

“Sam, if the others arrive they will be trapped too, and we’ll be in a worse situation. No, I’m sorry, kiddo, this is the only way.”

“What of I lose you? We’ve only just…” Sam put his hand over Gabriel’s. “I can’t lose someone else.”

“Hey this is me alright! I’m too awesome for one itty-bitty spell to hurt me.”

“Gabe.”

Gabriel looked seriously at Sam. “I have to, Sam, this is the only way I can guarantee you’ll be ok. My grace will recognise our bond and won’t harm you. There’s a good chance I’ll be fine.”

Sam squeezed Gabriel’s hand. “I love you, Gabriel.”

“I love you too, Sam. Now close your eyes.”

Sam did, his last memory of Gabriel’s eyes shining bright gold.

When Sam woke again it was to Dean’s insistent calling.

“Dean…where’s Gabriel?”

“We don’t know,” answered Dean slowly. “Cas felt him angel out, that’s how we found you.”

“I am sorry, Sam,” said Castiel. “All I can feel of Gabriel’s grace is that which is in you. I have no idea where he is.”

Sam slumped back.

“C’mon, Sammy, we need to go. Everything in a fifty-mile radius will have felt that, including whatever set that spell. You can explain everything on the way back to the motel.” Sam sighed and let Dean help him up. He slowly followed his brother and Castiel out to the impala.

As time went on, Dean tried to encourage Sam. Gabriel was strong! Sure, he’d let all of his grace out in one go, but he was a fucking archangel! The annoying little dick would be back.

Sam smiled and tried to seem positive for Dean’s sake. His brother didn’t need another reason to worry about him, but he felt empty inside.

When he and Gabriel had got together, Sam had thought he’d finally found someone who he could be with forever. Look at all the times they’d tried to kill him, even Lucifer hadn’t been able to destroy him permanently, but Sam couldn’t quite believe it. He touched the bonding mark, feeling the warmth of Gabriel’s grace under his skin. He obviously wasn’t meant to have anyone; Gabriel was just another casualty. He’d have to accept that he was meant to be alone. He’d had a year of happiness with Gabriel, and at least his brother was happy. He looked over at Dean and Cas, who were asleep on the couch leaning against each other.

As the weeks turned into months Dean stopped mentioning Gabriel. Sam ate, slept, and hunted, refusing to think about anything else.

 

About a year after Gabriel vanished, they were in a small town called Hope, Ohio, chasing up a news report that sounded like a vampire nest.

The three were sitting in the local diner eating breakfast, having just arrived in town. Well, Dean and Cas were eating breakfast. Sam was picking listlessly at a grapefruit when there came a loud crash, followed by some equally loud yelling from the kitchen.

The kitchen door flew open and a small man in a chef's uniform stormed out and started looking for something under the counter.

The three hunters who had looked over at the commotion stared in amazement at the figure - it was clearly Gabriel.

Unable to stop himself Sam got up and walked over to the counter.

“Sorry, kiddo I’m a little busy right now, someone‘ll be over to serve you in a minute.” The chef said, not looking up.

“Gabriel?” asked Sam quietly.

At that the chef looked up, frowning slightly. “My name’s Sebastian.”

“Uh sorry, thought you were someone else,” mumbled Sam.

“Hey no problem, I’ll get someone to take your order, Sammy.” The chef made his way back into the kitchen, leaving Sam looking puzzled.

“Well?” asked Dean as Sam got back to their table.

“Must have the wrong guy,” Sam muttered.

Dean frowned. “Dude, he called you Sammy.”

“So?”

“How did he know? He’s been in the kitchen the whole time we’ve been here. Cas, what do you think, can you sense Gabriel’s grace or something?”

“The part of my brother’s grace that is in Sam is affecting my perception. With my grace being low, I cannot distinguish between that and any grace in this man. I would need to be much closer.”

“Well, I say it’s him. Look at the time something similar happened to you, Cas. He just needs to remember. I’m going to get him.”

“No, Dean,” Sam interrupted. “He’s just some guy; it’s just a coincidence. You’re not going to do anything.”

“But,” Dean glared at his brother.

“No, Dean.”

“Fine,” huffed Dean. He didn’t understand his brother sometimes.

No one mentioned the incident again as they made their way to the motel and got set up, but Sam couldn’t stop thinking about it. He wanted to believe it was Gabriel - after all how did he know Sam’s name? - but he was afraid. What if he was wrong? It would feel like losing Gabriel again.

They set up maps of the local area at the motel and began to look at news reports, trying to figure out where the vampire nest might be. Eventually, Sam claimed tiredness and went to his room. He didn’t know what to do. He desperately wanted to go back to the diner, but he was afraid that the man wasn’t Gabriel. Eventually, after tossing and turning for a couple of hours, Sam got up.

He’d go to the diner, break in, find the guy’s address, and check him out. Maybe that would tell him something.

As he approached the diner, he saw the chef coming out, obviously preparing to lock up, and he hung back in the shadows, not wanting to be spotted.

As he watched, Sam saw someone approach the chef and grab him before he could react.

The chef managed to push his attacker back slightly, and as Sam ran over he saw it was one of the vamps. Sam drew his knife and began to struggle with the vamp, which managed to slash him on the arm before Sam stabbed the thing, at which point it decided this meal was more trouble than it was worth and vanished.

“Perfect timing, kiddo,” gasped the chef. “Shit, look at your arm! C’mon, there’s a first aid kit inside.” Opening the door, the chef led Sam into the diner and sat him down in the back room, seeming very calm despite what had just happened. Somewhat surprised at the turn of events, Sam didn’t think about the bonding mark when the chef said, “Sorry this has got to go,” cutting the sleeve off Sam’s shirt. He froze as he saw the mark. Ignoring Sam’s mumbled explanation, he slid his hand over the mark. As his hand fit perfectly into the bonding mark, he gasped and Sam felt a rush of grace move through the bond, similar to when they’d first bonded.

“Gabriel?” asked Sam quietly, watching his eyes flash gold.

“Sam, oh fuck, Sam I remember, I remember everything.” Gabriel gasped and wrapped his arms round Sam as if he never wanted to let him go. Sam hugged him back; overwhelmed at the feel of the exchange of grace and the knowledge that he’d got Gabriel back.

Eventually Gabriel pulled back to look down at Sam. “I knew when I saw you that you were the customer I always been looking for.”

Before Sam could answer, there came the sound of sirens in the distance.

“C’mon, we’d better go to the motel before the cops get here.”

Gabriel nodded and they quickly left.

They didn’t wake Dean and Cas when they got to the motel, preferring to snuggle up in bed together, Sam's ruined shirt and jeans being left on the floor. The cut on his arm had healed with the exchange of grace, but his clothes were covered in blood.

Gabriel settled down with Sam’s arms round him, finally back home.

The following morning, Dean’s call of, “Rise and shine, Sammy!” turned into, “Son of a bitch,” when he opened the door to find the room practically full of Gabriel’s wings. With a rustle, they vanished to reveal a sleepy looking Sam and Gabriel.

“Brother,” exclaimed Cas, who had come running at Dean’s yell.

“Give us a minute to get dressed! We’ll explain everything over breakfast.” Said Sam.

Looking slightly bewildered, Dean shut the door, leaving Sam and Gabriel alone.

“Ah, and here I thought we were going to get some catching up done on our own.” Gabriel said, but when he turned to look at Sam his eyes were serious.

Before Sam could answer he continued, “Yeah, I know I have some explaining to do.” With a sigh, he got up and began to get dressed, followed quickly by Sam.

Soon the four were sitting round the tiny motel table. Gabriel took a deep breath and began to speak. “After destroying the spell, I woke up in a field. I couldn’t remember anything, not my name, not where I lived, nothing. I had my wallet in my pocket, but although there was some money in there, there was no id. I walked to the nearest town.” He shrugged. “I don’t know why, but I didn’t want to go the police or the hospital - it felt wrong. The local diner was looking for a chef and I knew I could cook, so…”

He took a long drink of coffee before continuing. “I was lucky. Dana, the owner, didn’t ask any questions, and she had a spare room for rent above the shop. The whole time I was there it felt like I was waiting for someone. That one day someone would walk in from my previous life and I’d remember everything. But when you did walk in,” he smiled at Sam, “I didn’t remember anything. I only knew that you were very important to me, and I guess I got scared. I was trying to decide what to do if you came in again tomorrow when I was locking up, and, well, you know the rest.”

Dean grinned and slapped Sam on the back. “See? Told you he’d turn up. C’mon, Cas, let’s go check out some of these sights, see if we can’t track that nest down.”

“We’ll come with you,” Sam said, making a move to get up.

“Nah, you stay here and...” Dean waved a hand. “Clean up or something.”

Sam raised his eyebrows.

“Don’t make me say it.” Dean said as he saw the look on his brother’s face.

“I do not understand.” Cas said.

“I’ll explain in the car,” answered Dean and dragged him out.

“Ya know, I think I could get to like your brother after all,” Gabriel said with a smile.

Sam laughed and pulled him into a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading.  
> Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome.


End file.
